Juan’s post, and the subsequent responses, got me thinking about some of the crazy things I’ve seen/done while pregaming at the stadium.
I’m curious, because I KNOW there are some good stories between the whole lot of us, so what is your most memorable experience tailgating? I’m talking fights, food, boobs, drunkenness, general debauchery, etc… Spill it!
For me, it was a game at the Oakland Colleseum with the Raiders playing the Broncos. I can’t speak for Ford Field or any stadium outside of California, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling Oakland is one of the craziest locations for tailgating. Anyway, I’m on the BBQ making lamb kabobs and having a beer. I hear cursing and screaming and look up to see an Elway Jersey walking past me with about a dozen “beastly biker esque” gentlemen circling him like hungry wolves. He proceeds to enter the porta potty with an escort of hands slapping and shaking the stall. Two of the dudes walk back about 10 feet, go 3-point stance, the other wolves clear a path, and someone yells, “HIKE”!!! They rush the stall at full speed. Now, naturally I was like, “Oh shit, they’re gonna tip it”!! But this must be a regular occurrence, because the stall was bolted to railroad ties and a concrete pad. The two bulls hit the stall and WAMMM! The roof pops up and the front and side walls fold over to the ground. Dude honestly sat there taking a shit laughing his ass off. Even the aggressors ended their hunt due to fits of laughter. That Bronco fan asked someone to reach him the TP, wiped his ass, stood, pulled his pants up and walked away in tears he was laughing so hard. It was EPIC!
Christmas Day game against the Broncos, 1999. Tailgating in the frozen tundra of the silverdome parking lot.
Someone had Heineken, and we had no bottle opener so of course I tried to pop the top off on the car door latch. Not looking at what I was doing proceeded to drink. A few minutes later all the guys I was with said “dude your lips are bleeding and you have broken glass on your mouth.” I cracked the top of the bottle and was drinking glass, and it was so cold I felt no pain or anything…
Anyway, we went in, made fun of a guy wearing a Terrell Davis jersey and made a bunch of campbells soup commercial jokes… and watched the lions get beat. Not run over, not blown out, just totally beat.
I’ll never forget we were in the nosebleeds, and the lions came out in a singleback formation with Crowell, Moore, Morton, Sloan and sedrick Irvin at rb I think. We said to each other “ok, they have all their best players on the field right now. Let’s go.” And they got stuffed or turned it over or something…. Lost 17-7. Pretty boring game with no excitement.
But we had fun and it was a great day. That’s my story!
Haha! I have opened beers with endless MacGyver methods, but a car door handle is a new one to me… well done, and I’ll rememberit in a pinch. Bet the Xmas pics were keepers.
Down in Texas, you can always spot an Aggie, as they’re pretty proud of their ability to pop a top with their class ring. (And they ALL wear their class rings.)
We were tailgating ways back for the Lions game in Carolina (2014). My brother and I usually go with Keith (MaineLion I believe was his handle back in the day) on one of his organized road trips a year.
Who should happen to stop by our party? None other than the wives of Reggie Bush and Matt Stafford! A quick check says Matt and Kelly weren’t actually married back then…
My brother got Kelly to take a swig of Midnight Moon out of the jar! She wasn’t a big fan of the way it tasted. I can’t find the picture now but she has a look of disgust on her face after trying it while my brother is standing next to her, arms raised, cheering her on.
That’s pretty damn cool. I was expecting stories of former players or broadcasters wandering through the fans, but the wives having a swig of shine is nice!!
I haven’t had alot of tailgaiting experiences but I’ll tell you this little story about a tailgate party. The business development manager (white guy) for the company I was working for was looking for ways to earn some of the local black business and in that light he wanted to start doing marketing stuff targeting black people…like having a booth at X, Y, Z event and helping co-sponsor food tents, etc. The kind of stuff he did all of the time at non-black specific events. He had an upcoming gig at some event where he had a tent and was supplying food, alcohol, etc. He came to me to help him with the selections (when in doubt, go ask your black co-worker). I told him fried chicken, melon chunks, mac & cheese, greens, Hennessy, Ciroc, etc. His face turned red and it was kind of a funny but awkward conversation after that. He didn’t do it, he chickened out and did fried fish and some other typical stuff he’d supply at other events (Bud Light, etc).
About 3 weeks later my brother calls me from Michigan State and says he’s at a black alumni tailgate party. He is frickin STOKED about it and he’s sending me pictures of what all they’ve got spread out for the black alumni. He’s like “bro, they’ve got fried chicken, melon, mac & cheese, Hennessy, Ciroc!!!” Almost a list of what I had told the business development guy to have at his tent had my brother hype AF.
Last tailgate I was at around Ford Field (not a good place for tailgating), our lot had a VERY old-timer in a new, modern style Lions jersey, with number 22 and “LAYNE” on the back. Interesting!
Never tailgated at a domed stadium. Hell, I’ve never even been to a game at a domed stadium. Is it the dome, the cold, parking lot, the team??? Why is it “not a good place for tailgating”. Genuinely just curious.
